Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for appearing before the committee today. Unfortunately, due to the limited time, I will only ask a few of the questions I wished to ask. The first is for Ms Loughlin who represents the National Advocacy Service for People with Disabilities. The service strongly aligns with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities by assisting people to realise their rights. Ms Loughlin highlighted the work of the service and the many advocacy interventions it made last year. I presume that is only the tip of the iceberg and that there are many other cases that need more supports. From Ms Loughlin's experience, is there a need to expand the service to help more people with disabilities realise their rights? She also highlighted cases of financial control and people being prevented from getting the vaccine. Aside from the commencement of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act, what else can we do to reduce the number of cases of those forms of control and abuse?

I thank Mr. Sinnott for his work on highlighting issues with the State's interpretation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. He stated that the disability participation and consultation network does not comply with Article 4.3 obligations. What needs to happen with the DPCN to change this? I realise Mr. Sinnott answered a lot of this in response to questions from Deputy Wynne, but, as a summary point, do we need another structure altogether? In Mr. Sinnott's opening statement he highlighted the State's obligation to provide sustainable core institutional funding to DPOs while ensuring the independence of their advocacy agendas. Could he elaborate on that point and its significance?

I thank Ms Conway for brightening our morning with singing and also for laying out the cold realities of being an artist with a disability and the way the State puts barriers in place for her and others. She explained how many of the issues relate to the ableist privilege in public bodies. Senator Seery Kearney elaborated on that and Ms Conway did, too, in her response. Ms Conway spoke about quotas at every level. I wonder if, in addressing issues, that originates from the lack of people with disabilities in the decision-making process in Departments as well. Is that a focal point to start with?

I will leave it at that because other people wish to speak as well.